Acura TL vs 2007 Toyota Camry

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Camry and TL are designed with different goals, and different targeted buyers in mind.

For me, TL is for someone who needs a 4-door sedan but wants more driving pleasures than the regular, run-of-the-mill family sedan, and who are willing to spend a bit more on it, but not to the point of true luxury sport sedan like a BMW 5-series.

Camry SE V6 is for those TL-like drivers but who want or need to compromise on driveable for less $.

Regular Camry is for, well, those who want reliability, comfort and geting from point A to point B without too much concern about the "process" of getting there.

TL drives much better than a Camry. It may not be faster 0-60 on a straight away, but on corners and turns, it is more stable and has higher threshold of limit. This is evidence in the skidpad and salom #s. Camry is on par with the Accord in most respects.

We are all unique individuals with different needs in a car so it is natural that our comparisons vary. Sure there are direct comparisons... just look at any car magazine road tests. However, our unique situations may require a broader definition of what may meet our needs for a given price/value relationship.I'm actually looking at a TL-S vs. a Camry Hybrid. Do I think these two cars are equivalent? Of course not. In my case, I have a toddler in a car seat so a 4-door is a requirement. I commute 60 miles each way so reliability is critical as well as good gas mileage. I like somewhat "spirited" driving but am by no means a street racer. I like technical features like Bluetooth, XM radio and keyless start. I have no use for Nav as I only commute with this car. Winters are very bad here and even with snow tires, I would only drive FWD and actually would prefer AWD. I am in the car a lot and value comfort and quiet. Safety is critical as well.

These are just some of my unique requirements and that is why the TL-S and Camry Hybrid ended up on the list. They both meet certain criteria in different ways. It is then a matter of prioritizing my needs and trying to place a dollar value on all this.

I appreciate all the various comparisons as it helps to shed new light on differences and have learned a tremendous amount from the great folks on this forum. I'm test driving an Acura tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.

60 miles makes me wonder though... is your commute like mine, where it's mostly all highway?If so, a Hybrid isn't your best option anyway. Hybrids shine where our conventional cars don't... on the back roads and city driving. Highway driving, you're not saving enough to justify the extra cost associated with the Hybrid purchase.

And when I think "Spirited" driving, the Hybrid Camry is nowhere near my list of contenders.Get the TL.The 6-7 loaners I've had (including the Typs-S), I've averaged above 30 MPG on the highway, and it's 100% more fun to drive than any Camry ever made at any time. Period.

ooohhh..... bad winters, don't get me started. If that's the case you may want to look into an all-wheel-drive sedan. Infiniti G35x, Subaru Legacy GT or if you can wait the '09 TL will be out by next winter sporting SH-AWD. I had an '05 TL that was not good in the snow even w/ 4 snows. BTW, I kept the snows and rims when I traded in the TL and eventually sold them to a guy up the street who bought a new TL-S. Haven't heard from him since, but I haven't seen him stuck at the bottom of our hill either.